Connector systems that either maintain electrical continuity while a first connector member may be rotatable with respect to a second connector member or allow for rotation while engaging or disengaging of connector members are useful in down hole assembly applications in resource extraction, marine applications and other applications involving operation of electrical equipment in harsh conditions. In operation it is known that a circular contact may be employed around or within a connector member to contact a mating member having a non-circular contact.
Existing connectors often use a circular contact around the outer surface of the male connector rod or probe and a circular contact around the interior surface of the receiver or female connector to transfer a signal through the connector. An example of such a contact is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,389,003 (incorporated herein by reference in its entirety) which discloses a wireline wet connection between receivers and probes. A conducting ring consists of a bow spring element wrapped about a conductive cylinder and bowed outwardly to make positive pressure electrical contact with a contact ring embedded in the insulative body, and a conductive inner spring element captive within the inner diameter of the receiver.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,468,153 (incorporated herein by reference in its entirety) discloses a rotatable electrical connector. A mandrel includes an enlarged hollow cylindrical head with circumferential grooves into which beryllium copper wiper springs are mounted so as to contact the interior of the housing. A brass head also has two circumferential grooves into which beryllium copper wiper springs are mounted. Continuous electric contact on the “hot wire” of the wireline is maintained between a rotor and stator through the beryllium copper wiper springs which continuously provide approximately 100 or more electrical contact points between the mating surfaces. Continuous electric contact of the “ground” is similarly maintained between the head of the mandrel and the upper housing by the beryllium copper wiper springs.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,820,416 (incorporated herein by reference in its entirety) discloses a multiple contact wet connector that includes a probe assembly having a nose portion that removably fits within an axial cavity in a receiver assembly. The receiver is constructed to hold and maintain the relative longitudinal position of a circular spring contact. In an alternative embodiment, the circular spring contacts are affixed on three sides in the probe electrical contact which extends to the surface of the probe. Use of a circular spring in such a channel on a surface-exposed contact as either the receiver or probe contact is disclosed.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,927,402 and 5,967,816 (each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety) disclose a receiver assembly having a series of receiver contacts disposed about a common axis. Each contact is machined from a single piece of electrically conductive material and has a sleeve portion with eight extending fingers. The fingers are shaped to bow radially inward, in other words to have, from sleeve portion to a distal end, a first portion that extends radially inward and a second portion that extends radially outward, forming a radially innermost portion with a contact length of about 0.150 inch. By machining contact from a single piece of stock, the fingers, in their relaxed state as shown, have no residual bending stresses that tend to reduce their fatigue resistance.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,439,932 (incorporated herein by reference in its entirety) discloses a multiple contact connector having a receiver and a probe. The receiver has conductor rings, or contact rings embedded in the inner surface of an insulator at predetermined unique axial spacings. The probe has contact rings embedded within its outer surface corresponding axially to the receptacle contact rings.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,060,417 (incorporated herein by reference in its entirety) discloses a conical connector with circular brushes and rings in a system of fire-detectors within an aircraft. This connector is static, meaning that when in operation, they do not rotate one against the other. The ring configuration is meant to permit the electrical connecting of two components by screwing them together, which necessitated (in this design) connectors which could be rotated in relation to each other during assembly. The connector has a male conical end the outer surface of which has grooves with a metallic feature each connected to an external electronic, and in each groove is slidably positioned a metallic split ring in contact, when positioned, with the metallic feature. The female mating part (a conical receptacle) has deployed about its inner surface inner contact strips which touch the split rings when the male and female parts or screwed together for assembly. The conical nature of the parts is meant to compress the split rings against the contact strips to make and hold a good electrical connection, yet provide ease of disassembly and assembly. The connector is static in the sense that it does not rotate when in use, but rather is held tight, one mating part static against the other. The connector is meant for deployment in fire-detection systems on aircraft requiring a robust but refittable connector system to easily assemble, disassemble and check, and reassemble a network of longitudinally spaced thermistor-based temperature sensors. The connector is not meant for harsh environments, or to maintain connection while its parts rotate in relation to each other during normal operation.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,665,509 (incorporated herein by reference in its entirety) provides for an electrical connector set comprising a conical male connector and a mating conical receptacle to reliably and safely make electrical connections at great depths underwater. The male plug has contact rings deployed around its outer surface, perpendicular to its axis, and the female receptacle has connecting surfaces which match and correspond to the contact rings when the plug is seated in the receptacle. The male plug also has means to provide vacuum pressure differentials to the interface of the male and female components to assist them in mating, seating, sealing and maintaining their mated position. The plug, once seated, does not rotate in the socket. This device is meant to provide a multi-trace electrical connection to a salvage pontoon which may be placed, seated, and secured in a static position sealed from intrusion of seawater, by a pressure differential introduced by lowering the fluid pressure in the space between the male and female components to a pressure below the ambient fluid pressure in the deep water within which the device is submerged when used.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,131,844 (incorporated herein by reference in its entirety) discloses a dynamic rotary electrical connector for use in applications such as providing electrical connections between a static device to wires within a cable on a rotating reel. It provides a series of flat washer-like metallic contact surfaces of consecutively smaller outer and inner diameter placed on a non-conducting circular body with increasingly smaller steps (from one end to the other), each step meant to hold one washer-like contact surface. The contact surfaces are connected to electrical traces within the stepped body, which is mounted to a fixture at the axis of a reel, with the contact surfaces facing the reel. A second part, holding brushes which are each sprung to be held in contact with a matching washer-like contact ring is mounted to the cable reel on the side of the reel facing the stepped body so that the brushes are biased to contact their matching contact ring and provide electrical connection from the static device through the stepped body's traces to the contact rings then to the brushes and from each brush to a wire within the cable for which the reel is made. The connector system is generally open to the environment.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,193,636 (incorporated herein by reference in its entirety) describes a rotatable multiple-lead electrical connector with an essentially conical male plug with circumferential connector ring contacts embedded into the plug's outer surface, each shaped in cross-section as a “W”; and a matching conical female receptacle with internal circumferentially mating connectors comprised of multiple spring contact arms shaped in cross-section roughly as a “V”, to engage the “V” shape with the “W” shape, so that the connector rings form a mechanism to retain male plug in the receptacle. When engaged, the male connector rings each connect with a mating spring-ring in the female receptacle. Electrical signals are provided to the female receptacle by wires within the non-conductive body of the receptacle affixed to the “V” shaped embedded spring contact arms, and to the male plug by wires through the plug's body and soldered to each “W” shaped ring connector. Further, each ring connector and each set of contact arms may be split into radial segments, each segment with its own electrical lead; in this way, partial rotation of the engaged plug or socket will change the electrical connection (from one set of mated radial ring segments to another set, on each of the male and female elements).
U.S. Pat. No. 7,052,297 and PCT Publication No. WO 2006/025899 (each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety) disclose a rotary connector with removable/refittable contacts. A roughly cylindrical male plug is built-up of alternating insulator and conductor rings stacked on a central core which is a metal rod covered with an insulating layer. Wiring is provided to each connector ring by passing through each previously-stacked insulator and conductor ring. A mating receptacle is provided with conductors spaced within its cavity at circumferences spaced to match the spacing of the conductor rings on the plug, when assembled. Electrical ground is provided through the core's metal rod to a connector on the plug's tip end. The connectors either on the male plug's probe or within the receptacle's body are made of a springy, elastic circular contact which, when the plug is engaged and contacts are made, touches each of a conductor ring and female circumferential conductor in at least one spot to make electrical connection. The connection is kept when the plug is engaged whether or not the plug is rotated within the receptacle. The connector requires holes to be made in each conductor and insulator ring prior to assembly, and then the alignment of each hole for insertion of electrical leads, which must be insulated since they pass through conductor rings to which they are not meant to connect. When any conductor or insulator ring rotates during use, there is a tendency for the holes through which the leads pass to misalign. Each time that occurs, a cutting stress is placed on the leads' insulator layer, and eventually, the lead will either become uninsulated at that point of contact with a conductor, or be severed. Multiple holes are required to maintain constant alignment, and misalignment of one ring will cause multiple lead failures.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,636,549 (incorporated herein by reference in its entirety) discloses a contact bayonet electrical connector system including a male component with a small cylindrical tip and a larger conical middle part and a female component adapted to receive the male component and make electrical connections via electrically conducting rings. The conical middle part of the male component has a strict conical shape with electrically conducting rings and insulating rings forming a consistent slope. It is indicated that, by virtue of the conical structure, during the insertion and removal of the male component from the female component none of the traces within the conical section slide against or are connected with any of the other traces, and when the connection is made the connection is made properly between all circuits roughly simultaneously.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,885,849 (incorporated herein by reference in entirety) discloses an electrical connector consisting of molded male and female inserts. One of the inserts is provided with a locking mechanism based on a spring latch configured to project into an opening on the opposing insert. The latching mechanism is disengaged by pressing on the spring latch and pulling on the insert containing the spring latch.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,050,658 (incorporated herein by reference in entirety) discloses a detachable shielded waterproof electrical connector system appropriate for shielding a spark plug lead. The system includes two parts configured to engage each other using a lug and groove engagement.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,552,777 (incorporated herein by reference in entirety) discloses a self-locking threaded electrical connector with one of the two mating sections of the connector having indentations or holes and the other connector having balls that fit into the holes as the two parts are threaded.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,593,415 (incorporated herein by reference in entirety) discloses a method of assembling electrical cables underwater by threading them together in a work area free of water provided by a membrane.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,178,051 (incorporated herein by reference in entirety) discloses a latch/eject pin header arrangement appropriate for connection of pin terminals in a mating connector.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,240,437 (incorporated herein by reference in entirety) discloses a guide wire assembly including a guide wire with first and second conductors extending along its length. The assembly includes a male connector with a sleeve protecting a conductive core. The corresponding female connector has an inner conductive grip portion with a cylindrical recess for accepting the conductive core in frictional contact.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,358,409 (incorporated herein by reference in its entirety) discloses a rotary connector for a flexible elongate member having electrical properties and having a proximal extremity with at least first and second conductive sleeves provided thereon. An outer housing is provided which has a bore therein. First and second spaced-apart conductive disks are mounted in the bore. The conductive disks are sized so that the conductive sleeves can extend therethrough and make electrical contact therewith. Leads are coupled to the conductive disks. A gripping mechanism is carried by the housing for retaining the proximal extremity of the flexible elongate member in the housing. The gripping mechanism is a push-button grip mechanism located at a distance from the conductive disks.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,033,250 (incorporated herein by reference in its entirety) discloses an electrical connector which is capable of establishing both electrical and mechanical connection between a wiring harness and a printed circuit board. The electrical connector has a header being mechanically secured to the printed circuit and a plug connected at the end of a wiring harness. A latch is disposed along an edge of the plug and has a main body from which a latch arm is bent at a right angle and extends along a central axis from the body to a free end. The free end is defined by a securing portion being slightly larger than the remainder of the latch arm. The securing portion has a locking projection extending therefrom at the free end. A spring arm also extends at an acute angle from the body angle and towards the latch arm. The free end of the spring arm is profiled to engage an outer surface of the plug housing so that when a force is applied to the body it will cause deflection of the spring arm to generate a motion of the latch arm along the central axis.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,183,293 (incorporated herein by reference in its entirety) discloses an electrical connector for mounting in an opening in a wall is provided, where the connector includes connector and clamp elements that can be threaded together with a large helical angle thread such as a bayonet thread, for resisting loosening. The connector element has a holder ring and at least one latch member mounted on the holder ring. The clamp element has a latch ring which surrounds the holder ring and that has a plurality of radial projections. The latch member has a fixed proximal end, and has a distal end biased to a position in the path of the projections as an element turns. The latch member can be a resilient beam whose distal end has a radially outer surface that is easily deflected inwardly during turning in a direction to tighten the threads. The distal end has a tip with a surface that greatly resists turning of the elements in a direction to loosen the threaded connection. The latch member is preferably an elastomerically deflectable beam.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,033,833 (incorporated herein by reference in its entirety) discloses a rotatable connector including a first rotating member and a second rotating member rotatably coupled to each other. The first rotating member includes a first surface and an opposite second surface. The first surface forms first pins, and the second surface forms fixing bodies each comprising a first portion and a second portion. The first portion and the second portion cooperatively define a latching groove therebetween. The second rotating member includes a third surface opposing the first rotating member and an opposite fourth surface. The third surface forms circular latching bodies rotatably retained within the latching groove. The fourth surface forms second pins. The fixing bodies and the latching bodies cooperatively define cavities fully filled in electrical conductive material. The wires that are respectively fixed to the first pins and the second pins are capable of being electrically connected by the electrical conductive material.
A pair of products named “10-conductor male” and “10-conductor female” (https://web.archive.org/web/20150924070401/http://www.canyon-mfg.com/connectors, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety) comprise a rotatable connector system marketed by Canyon Manufacturing Services Inc. (Houston, Tex., USA). The male conductor has three portions of different diameters with a slope-step separating the smallest diameter portion from the middle diameter portion and a slope step separating middle diameter portion from the large diameter portion. Conducting contacts are provided on each of the male portions.
There remain a number of problems to be solved in efforts to improve systems for making electrical connections in harsh environments.